U.S. Congress Investigates Pelosi Video Deepfake Possibilities

Congress is investigating deepfakes after an altered video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went viral on Facebook, according to a CNN report.

The video was uploaded on May 23 and appeared to be Pelosi
drunkenly slurring her words. At that time, Facebook refused to take down the
false clip.

Mysteriously, the Pelosi videos disappeared, but Facebook
denied removing them. By the time they were taken down, one of the videos had
been viewed over 1.4 million times and shared over 30,000 times.

In response to Facebook not taking the false media down, Pelosi slammed Facebook in an interview with KQED News.

She said: “We have said all along, poor Facebook, they were
unwittingly exploited by the Russians. I think wittingly, because right now
they are putting up something that they know is false. I think it’s wrong… I
think they have proven — by not taking down something they know is false — that
they were willing enablers of the Russian interference in our election.”

The reason why Congress is so concerned — other than that
it is false content about Pelosi — is that the deepfake technology had many
viewers fooled into believing that Pelosi was actually drunk and slurring.

Deepfakes are “video forgeries” that manipulate visual and
audio data in order to make people look like they are doing and saying things
they have not done or said. Deepfakes can manipulate videos to the point where
viewers may not honestly be able to tell when what they’re watching is real or
not.

Many people are concerned about what deepfakes could do
during elections.